[jbox color=”gray”]”The Mets are moving forward, climbing again, and playing better than expected. … But as of today, there are no plans for the Mets to dive back into the marketplace and spend aggressively …. As the team gets better, and Citi Field attendance climbs, the Mets’ payroll will grow. … It’s a slow-burn strategy, and rival officials believe it has a chance to work under Sandy Alderson, because there is hope on the horizon. Zack Wheeler is dominating hitters in the minors … Matt Harvey is progressing. Jenrry Mejia appears to be back on track.”[/jbox]

According to Olney, sources say, while David Wright is having a very productive season, the Mets instead look to spend future money on power hitters, “as they push forward, slowly.”

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Matthew Cerrone: I don’t care about payroll. I really don’t. And, I hate that these media outlets put such hyperbolic emphasis on it. I care about wins. And, until someone can show me actual evidence that one guarantees the other, I will continue to care and focus more on ‘the slow climb,’ as Olney puts it, since I think Sandy is on the right track.

Frankly, I love that this front office seems so steady. They’re not running wild, all over the place, grasping at straws, out of breath, losing steam and resources, in jeopardy of tripping and spilling out of control. Instead, it feels like they’re walking, rather calm, slowly, but in a straight line, towards a specific point on the horizon. Yes, it’s taking time, and might not be very exciting, by slow-step by slow-step they seem to be building and putting things together in a manner that will make the end-game exciting and sustainable… finally.

The problem, however, is what happens if they trip and fall anyway, even while going slow and steady… then what? I’ll probably be nauseated by all the time that was missed, waiting, again hoping for prospects, missing out on possible trades and signings, etc. I think this is the right approach, though. I think it’s better for the long-term stability of the franchise. I bitched and moaned two years ago how Ownership needed to step aside, hand the team over to a true executive baseball person and let them basically rip everything down and start new. Ownership has seemingly done that, for the most part, the dust is settling and we’re just now starting to see building blocks of a foundation (such as Wheeler, Harvey, Lucas Duda, among others).

There’s still so much work to be done and I know it’s going to take time. I hope it all works out. I think it will, though I bet I end up being a total hypocrite if it doesn’t…

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To read Olney’s morning round up of rumors and links, and to get additional quotes and comments from today’s post about the Mets, check out his blog here.